THE FOUR VOWS

THE VOW OF PRIORITY. THE VOW OF PURSUIT.THE VOW OF PARTNERSHIP.THE VOW OF PURITY.

WHO’S THE ONE?

GOD IS YOUR ONE AND YOUR SPOUSE IS YOUR TWO.

Matthew 22:37-39 - You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.

The ultimate goal that God is working toward in your life is to make you like Christ.

Romans 8:28-29 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

God’s goal has always been to make us like his Son--for us to be perfect.

1 John 3:2 - Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Ephesians 4:13 - This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

John 17:19 - And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy (sanctified) by your truth.

I. What is grace?

A. The word 'grace' (CHEN in Hebrew, CHARIS in Greek), as it is used in the scriptures, literally means 'favour', to bend or stoop in kindness to another as a superior to an inferior.

When used in reference to God, it is the benevolent action of Him stooping down to us in His kindness to reach us in our need, and convey upon us a benefit that we could not achieve by ourselves.

"Grace can be defined as the inexhaustible goodness of God to people who do not deserve it, could not have earned it, and could never pay back for it, for it is the God of grace that authors His goodness to undeserving mankind." Dr. Tony Evens

I. The Two of you

A. When you are born you are born into Adam

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

The bible also refers to this nature as the flesh. It is your inner desire toward sin. The natural propensity to sin.

B. The new nature is given to you the moment you accept Christ

The new nature is new life and new power

It is not your conscience; your conscience is a mental and emotional thing and can be manipulated, seared and affected by circumstances and belief systems.

One of the most crucial aspects of growth in our lives is learning to trust God concerning our two natures.

Matthew 1:1-6 - This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.

I. Matthew goes out of his way to point out David’s failure... "Whose mother had been Uriah’s wife."

A. Why not “David the Warrior”? “David the giant slayer, David the Fundraiser”? “David the Writer”? David the musician and singer.

When a great leader, politician, a pastor, who may be a great dad or great mom. When this person, someone you trust someone who is an anchor to your life fails you it's so destructive.

Matthew 1:1-5 - This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.

I. Rahab the …

A. This is the second time he pauses to point out who someone’s mother was.